Monday, August 9, 2010

Gollywhopper turned Garbage!

The Most Exciting and Fun Book of the Summer Award goes to....

The Gollywhopper Games

Rainy days and book stores go together like peanut butter jelly. I love nothing more than to spend a rainy afternoon browsing all of the newest titles, picking up a few to read and settling into a comfy chair in a quiet corner. I picked up this book last week, along with The Hunger Games (noticing a games theme?), and parked my butt in my favorite spot of Borders. As the rain drizzled down the window pane, I began reading. Before I knew it I was one hundred pages into the book and had no intention of putting it down. However, the store had other ideas (shouldn't book stores be open 24 hours like Walmart?) and I hastily made my way to the front to pay for my books. On the way home, I pulled it out at every red light and jumped right into bed with it as soon as I walked in the door.

The next morning, I took the book outside to read on the swing and spent a hot, but happy hour immersed in the world of Golly. I took a break to play frisbee with Wild Girl but our play time was cut short due to fat rain droplets on our heads. Wild girl and I fixed breakfast (oatmeal for me, kibble for her) and mid-bite I realized that I had left the book on the swing! I ran outside to assess the damage. It was not good.

Not only had my new book been thoroughly soaked, but the wind had blown it in the dirt under the swing and the pages were caked with mud. But all was not lost! No siree Bob! With the speed and agility of a surgeon, I rushed the injured book inside and proceded to mend it with my hair dryer. Twenty minutes and three hundred thirty two starchy dirt-covered pages later, I was curled back up on the couch with my book.

What's so great, you ask? This story crams edge-of-your-seat action with super rad brain puzzles that are an adventure just trying to figure them out.

Here's an example of a Golly puzzle: Starting with one letter, can you figure out the passcode?

Hints:*This is a maze of letters*Figure out where to start*Move vertically, horizontally, or diagonally*Use each letter only once*The letters will spell three words*The words all can be used to modify the name of an object*That object is your answer

O M I C ST I T K TA M E N I

(Start with A)

Want the answer? You'll have to read the book!

Here are some of my hints for reading this book: *I highly suggest you read this book when you have tons of time to devote to it because you are not going to want to put it down!*Do not leave it outside in the middle of the summer in Florida. It will turn into a pile of soggy mush.

Recipe to Read By: Tic-Tac-Toe Cookies

Don't you think Gil Goodson (the main character and puzzle extraordinaire) would love these cookies? They also make a great rainy day activity when no one will drive you to the bookstore...

2 comments:

Someone alerted me to this, so I hope you don't mind me stopping in. First, thanks so much for your review. Then sorry for what happened to your copy. If you tend to keep books, can I offer to send you a drier replacement?